Group Oks Vaccine For Girls

RICHMOND — Lawmakers debate requiring 11-year-olds to get a shot that prevents a sexually transmitted disease that could lead to cancer.

Girls across the state would be required to get a newly approved vaccine for viruses that can cause cervical cancer under a measure approved by a House of Delegates committee Tuesday.

The first of the three-shot series would be mandatory for girls entering the sixth grade, but the law would allow for medical and religious exemptions. Last June, the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine that prevents the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease that causes genital warts and can lead to cervical cancer.

"This is a very exciting time for us," said Del. Jeion Ward, D-Hampton, who sponsored one of the proposals. "We have the ability to get rid of cervical cancer in our lifetime."

Each year in the United States, about 3,700 women die from cervical cancer and an additional 10,000 are diagnosed with the disease.

State lawmakers now have to weigh the prospects of mandating what doctors are touting as a life-saving cancer stopper against the idea of injecting middle school girls with a newly minted vaccine that prevents a sexually transmitted disease.

"This is a completely preventable disease," Boardman told the House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee.

Boardman testified about the simple ways people get the papillomavirus and the difficulty of discerning which infections will heal naturally and which will grow into cancer.

The viruses spread through "any skin-to-skin contact, so we know even safe sex practices won't protect you," Boardman said. And "we don't have any way to predict who is going to harbor the virus."

The only objection in the meeting came from Del. John J. Welch, R-Virginia Beach, who said the legislation was being approved too quickly.

"Immediately out of the shot farm -- not six months later -- we're going to mandate it for the entire state of Virginia?" Welch asked. "I would ask the committee to slow down and take a look at this."

Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, said the shots will not be required until the start of the 2009 school year, which will allow the Department of Health to prepare for the program and let lawmakers monitor any news about the vaccine.

"There's a reason for that delayed effective date," said Hamilton, who also sponsored a vaccine bill.

Boardman said the vaccine has been studied for four years on 22,000 women in the United States, with similar studies in Europe.

Ward said the issue is especially close to her. "There are 10 women every day -- 10 women -- who die from this," Ward said, noting that her granddaughter is about to celebrate her 5th birthday. "I don't mind fighting for it."

The bill now moves to the House Appropriations Committee, where lawmakers will attempt to determine the price of requiring the series of shots, which cost a total of about $360.

Financial analysts are trying to calculate the fiscal impact according to Health and Human Resources Secretary Marilyn Tavener. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's proposed state budget includes about $1.4 million for the vaccine next year, she said, to cover those who can't afford the shots but aren't eligible for Medicaid.

Tavener said the Kaine administration supports the legislation, but wants to see the final form of the bill. A similar measure has been introduced in the state Senate, but has not come up for discussion.

Legislators in nearly a dozen states are eyeing the vaccine, including Maryland, West Virginia, New Hampshire and California. Michigan legislators debated the idea last year, but the proposal failed. *